System of aerial transport



June 19, 1923. 1,45%,495

G. BENNIE SYSTEM OF AERIAL TRANSPORT Filed April 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Willi I. m m En m m 7 June 19, 1923. 71,459,495

(5. BENNIE SYSTEM OF AERIAL TRANSPORT Filed April 9, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2.

P i I s l %LI J IVVen-Zw; G 50f77 Patented June 19, 1923.

Application filed April 9,

Ton whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE BENNIE, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Normanhurst, Craigmore, Bute; Scotland, have invented a certain new and useful System'o'f Aerial Transport, of which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to a system oftransport of the kind in which a vehicle or the like is driven by an air propeller or. the like along a rigid trackway.

- According to the invention a vehicle or the like driven by an air propeller or the like is accommodated between two .or more rigid-guiding tracks at leastone of which serves for the'suspension of the said vehicle, means being provided for lifting'the latter when the speed has been sufliciently increased the weight of the vehicle being then wholly supported .by the air orpartly by the latter and partly by the supporting guiding track.

The invention is' illustrateddiagrammatically and by way of example in the accom panying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 an end view of an installation suitable for the transport of passengers and freight on an endless track in two opposite directions.

Referring to the drawings, 8 designates the track, preferably at a distance from one another which is smaller than the length of the vehicle; 9 a pair of main girders supported on the standards 8: 10 cantilevers provided at intervals along the main girders 9; 11 and 12 brackets attached'to the cantilevers and carrying horizontally braced suspended rails 13 and horizontally braced guide rails 14.

The vehicle is suspended from the main supporting rail 13 by means of a bogey or bogeys 15 and is provided with spring-controlled guide wheels or pulleys 16 which engage laterally with the guide rail 14 below the car. The vehicle is preferably also provided with lifting planes 17. 18, which are preferably arranged above the roof thereof, the width of which planes in the example illustrated is made approximately the same as the width of the vehicle, in order that the lateral overall dimensions of the installation may be maintained within reasonable limits. The lifting planes are so constructed GEORGE rennin, or BUTE, SCOTLAND.

SYSTEM OF AERIAL TRANSPORT.

1923. .Serial No. 630,881.

and arranged that they can be reversed or otherwise adjusted to enable. the craft tov be driven in either direction. l

The vehicle or, aircraft hereinbefore referred to is driven'along by means of air propellers 19,20 which maybe rotated by any'suitable motors, such as internal combustion engines or electric motors, preferably provided at each end of the vehicle and connected with the air propellers by means of suitable clutches. When the air'propellers are driven by means of electric motors the latter may receive their energy from a'conductor suspended a longthe track, I

through a suitable collector provided on the vehicle the installation being earthed through the body of the vehicle and the standards. If one of the rails is suitably insulated from the remainder of installation, the samemay be used instead of the cable for supplying the electric energy tothe electric motors. Any other form of supplying electricenergy from a distant'generator station may be employed, care being taken in all cases that .when' the vehicle or I: aircraft transferred from the rail 13 to the planes 17. 18 or their equivalent until. in the case of a craft designed to be wholly air-borne, flying speed is attained and the entire Weight is taken by the planes or their equivalent or in the case of a craft designed to be only partially air-borne, the speed at which the greatest lifting effort is exerted is attained. when a predetermined proportion of the weight is removed from the rail 13. In

the case of craft designed to be wholly airborne any tendency of same to rise can be overcome by adiustment of the planes. When it is desired tostop the craft, the engine driving the air propeller can be stopped or disconnectedand the engine at the other end of the craft can be started. and connected with its associated air propeller which,

' v tending to propel the craft in the direction wheels of the bogeys may be driven in addition to the propellers. A rudder maybe provided for'guiding the canto any pointor at any angle that may be necessary. Thisrudder may be controlled by the. upper main supporting rail. t

It is to be understood; that I do not desire to be limited to lifting planes, as the body of the vehicle mayfor instance be so designed asto its stream lines that it may rise andwbe-partly air-borne when the speed is suiiiciently increased. The vehicle may also be provided/with air fins by which it will be'causedto lift when desired. These fins may be adjusted automatically or otherwise. Itis also to be understood that in the system according to the present invention,

- the'bogeys need not rise from the suspension rail,'rsuitable springs: being preferably interposed between the bogeys and the vehicle to allow :thelatter to rise without the bogeys leavingthe rail. It will thus be seen that my {system is apcombination of the present railwayand tramway system with the advantag'esgained by the aircraft transport;

What I claim is r 1. A system of, aerial transport comprising in combination a vehicle, a rigid track for the suspension and a rigid track for the guiding of the said vehicle, between which tracks the vehicle-is accommodated, air propellers for driving the, vehicle andl,means capable of lifting the vehicle at a high speed of the latter, ;whereby the weight of the We hicle is wholly supported by the air or partly bysthe air and partly by the suspen- I sion track. I g

2 t system of, aerial transport comprising in combination a vehicle, a rigid track orv P ly y t planes and partly b the suspension track." ,i t

I 3,. A system of aerial transport comprising in combination a veliicle, a'rigid track for the suspension and a rigid track for the guiding. of theisaid vehicle, between which tracks the vehicle is accommodatedyair pro pellers for driving the vehicle and fins on the. vehicle for causing .the vehicle to -lift a when it reaches a sufliciently high speed. 1

' 4. A systemof aerial transport as'clainfed in claim 1comprisingameanspermitting a B5 reversal of the direction of travel of the vehicle. a. i 1 i i In testimony name to this specification. I

time I has sigma: 

